Battle of Volturno

The Battle of Volturno (1 October 1860) was a major battle of the Italian Wars of Independence that occurred when the 25,000-strong Redshirt army of Giuseppe Garibaldi decisively defeated a larger Neapolitan army of 30,000 troops under Giosue Ritucci along the Volturno River in southern Italy. After the conquest of Sicily by the Redshirts, King Francis II of the Two Sicilies was forced to flee to the fortress of Gaeta, and his general Giosue Ritucci rebuilt an army of 30,000 Bourbon troops in Capua. On 30 September 1860, a Neapolitan corps crossed the Volturno River at Triflisco, and it was halted by two Garibaldine brigades at Triflisco. Ritucci decided to send two divisions to attack the center of Garibaldi's army, and the two sides met in battle the next day. Francis II himself arrived on the battlefield to spur on his troops, and the Neapolitans nearly routed the Garibaldine Redshirts. However, Redshirt reinforcements arrived, and they defeated the Swiss and Bavarian forces of Giovan Luca von Mechel. The Bourbon forces were driven off the battlefield, with the last regiment holding onto Capua. At 2:00 AM the next day, the Redshirts assaulted and conquered Capua, ending the battle as a decisive victory.